Stop Landing in Spam.
Start Landing in Inboxes.

You have two domains. Each one gets a different job. Never cold-email from your main brand domain. If it gets flagged, your whole brand reputation gets hurt.

SPF tells email servers "these are the only services allowed to send email from my domain." You add it in your domain's DNS settings. Here's exactly how:

1. Log in to wherever you bought your domain (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, etc.)
2. Find DNS Settings or DNS Management
3. Click Add Record
4. Choose type: TXT
5. In the "Host" or "Name" field, type: @
6. In the "Value" or "Content" field, paste the record below for your email tool
7. Save. Wait 15–30 minutes for it to take effect.

SPF Records by Email Tool

Do this for BOTH domains: cineminn.com and MinnesotaRealEstatePhotography.com

DKIM is like a digital wax seal on your emails. It proves the email wasn't tampered with between you and the reader. Every major email tool (Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Google Workspace) gives you a DKIM key to copy and paste.

1. Log in to your email sending tool (Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, etc.)
2. Go to Settings → Domains or Account Settings → Email Authentication
3. Click Authenticate Domain or Set Up DKIM
4. Your tool will give you 1–2 CNAME or TXT records to copy
5. Go back to your domain DNS settings
6. Add those exact records (copy-paste — don't retype)
7. Come back to your tool and click Verify

DMARC is the boss that ties SPF and DKIM together. It tells email servers what to do if someone tries to fake your domain. Start on "none" (monitor mode) for 30 days, then upgrade to "reject."

1. Go back to your DNS settings
2. Add a new TXT record
3. Host/Name: _dmarc
4. Value: paste the record below

DMARC Record — Start Here (Week 1–4)

Google Postmaster Tools shows you exactly how Gmail views your domain — like a credit score for your emails. It's free and takes 10 minutes to set up.

1. Go to postmaster.google.com
2. Sign in with a Google account
3. Click the + button to add a domain
4. Type cineminn.com — click Next
5. Google will give you a TXT record to add to your DNS
6. Add it (same way as above) then click Verify
7. Repeat for MinnesotaRealEstatePhotography.com

This schedule is for MinnesotaRealEstatePhotography.com. If cineminn.com is a new domain too, follow the same schedule for it.

The "you're ready" test: Go to mail-tester.com, send them a test email, and aim for a score of 8/10 or higher before scaling up.

This is your pre-flight check. Every pilot runs one before takeoff. You run this before every email campaign.

1. Go to mail-tester.com (free — no signup needed)
2. Copy the unique email address it gives you (e.g., test-abc123@mail-tester.com)
3. Send your campaign email to that address exactly as you would send it to your list
4. Wait 1–2 minutes, then click Check Your Score
5. Read the results

Mail-Tester will show you exactly what's wrong (broken SPF, missing unsubscribe link, spam trigger words, etc.). Fix each issue and re-test until you hit 8+.

This is non-negotiable. Never buy an email list. Never rent one. Never scrape one. Here's why this matters in plain English:

• Bought lists are full of fake emails, spam traps, and people who never asked to hear from you
• A spam trap is a fake email address that ISPs (Gmail, Yahoo) use to catch spammers — hitting even one can get your domain blacklisted
• CAN-SPAM and GDPR laws can fine you thousands of dollars for emailing people without consent
• Organic lists get 5x higher open rates than bought lists anyway — they're just better

Email list validation checks every email address to see if it's real before you send. This prevents bounces, which protect your sender reputation.

1. Export your list from your email tool as a CSV file
2. Go to ZeroBounce.net or Bouncer.io (both have free credits to start)
3. Upload your CSV file
4. Wait for the scan to finish (usually 5–20 minutes)
5. Download the results
6. Keep: Valid emails only
7. Delete: Invalid, Spam Trap, Catch-All emails
8. Upload your cleaned list back to your email tool

Every email you send must have a working unsubscribe link. This isn't just good practice — it's the law. And more importantly, someone who unsubscribes is much better for you than someone who hits "Mark as Spam."

• Use your email tool's built-in unsubscribe link — Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, and all major tools add this automatically
• Never hide the unsubscribe link (small font, white text, etc.) — this gets you blacklisted
• When someone unsubscribes, they are automatically removed from future sends — do not manually re-add them
• Check once a month that your unsubscribe link actually works — send yourself a test email and click it

If someone hasn't opened one of your emails in 90 days, they're "inactive." Sending to inactive people hurts your open rate and signals to Gmail that your emails aren't wanted. Here's what to do:

1. In your email tool, filter contacts who haven't opened any email in the last 90 days
2. Create a segment called "90-Day Inactive"
3. Send them a 3-email re-engagement sequence over 2 weeks:

Anyone who doesn't open or click any of these 3 emails: remove them from your active list. They're done. Letting go of them protects everyone who IS engaged.

A hard bounce means the email address doesn't exist. Sending to it again is like mailing a letter to a house that burned down — it just makes you look bad.

• After every campaign, log in to your email tool and check the Bounce Report
• Hard bounces (permanent failures) = delete immediately, forever
• Soft bounces (temporary, like inbox full) = keep but flag; delete after 3 soft bounces in a row
• Most email tools handle this automatically — double check your settings are set to "auto-suppress hard bounces"

Your subject line is the first thing both Gmail and your reader sees. Bad subject lines = spam folder before anyone even reads your message.

The formula for a great subject line: Write it like you're texting a colleague. Specific. Human. No exclamation marks. No all-caps. No spam trigger words (see Step 14).

Certain words automatically trigger spam filters. Before sending any email, use Ctrl+F (Find) to check if any of these words appear in your email body or subject line:

The format of your email (plain text vs. designed HTML) matters a lot. Use the wrong one and you'll land in the wrong folder.

Gmail's Promotions tab is where emails go to be ignored. Here's exactly how to keep your emails in the Primary inbox instead:

• Send from a real person's name. Use Alex from Cineminn or Alex @ MinnesotaREP — NOT marketing@, info@, or noreply@. Gmail trusts human names.
• Ask for a reply. End every cold email with a simple question. Replies are the #1 signal to Gmail that your emails are wanted. ("Does this sound like something that would work for your listings?")
• Remove heavy HTML. One image max. No more than one tracking link. No giant banner headers.
• No "Unsubscribe" at the top. Put it in the footer, but don't make it the first thing Gmail sees.
• In your welcome email, ask new subscribers to drag your email to their Primary tab. ("P.S. — to make sure my emails land in your Primary inbox, drag this email out of Promotions and drop it in Primary. Takes 2 seconds!")

Sending too many emails from a single inbox in one day screams spam to Gmail. Spread your sends across inboxes and time.

How often you send matters as much as what you send. Too little and people forget who you are. Too much and they unsubscribe or mark you as spam.

Real estate agents are busy people. Send when they're actually at their desk and in "business mode."

Log in to your email tool after every campaign and check each of these numbers. If anything falls outside the healthy range, stop sending until you investigate.

Every Monday, open Google Postmaster Tools and do a quick 5-point health check:

• Domain Reputation: shows High or Medium (not Low or Bad)
• Spam Rate: below 0.10% (the graph line should be flat near the bottom)
• Delivery Errors: should show 0% or very close to it
• Authentication: SPF and DKIM show green checkmarks
• Screenshot the dashboard and save to your monthly folder

Getting on an email blacklist means ISPs (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook) actively block your emails. This check takes 5 minutes and can save you weeks of deliverability headaches.

1. Go to mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx
2. Type cineminn.com in the search box and hit Enter
3. Wait 30 seconds for results
4. All should show green checkmarks. If any show red — screenshot it immediately and contact your email tool's support
5. Repeat with MinnesotaRealEstatePhotography.com